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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. root — of a plant
  3. kid — to tease
  4. staff — employees
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. spring — of water
  7. staff — employees
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wax — to grow
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tube — the underground
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. root — the cause
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. kid — child
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cue — for pool
  21. tube — a container
  22. cue — a hint
  23. root — of a word
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com